Bluetinatoo is having a destash sale....

I'm destashing big time! My jewellery making efforts have veered off in a different direction and I now make a lot of components myself. I have loads of ear wires, clasps and other things that I no longer need. Perhaps they would be useful to you? Things like these:

SS Hoops with loops

Bali silver chandeliers

SS Fancy Bail

or these:

Blue Cloisonne Flower Beads

Amethyst glass angel wings

I have created a coupon:

Visit bluetinatoo's Studio

SAVE 25.00 % On Select Studio Categories

Use Coupon Code:

DESTASHSEPTEMBER2011

during checkout.

It can be used in both my destash categories from now until Sunday 9th October.  I have limited it to ONE use per customer - I want you to buy everything you want in one go!

Choose wisely!

I'm all behind, like a cow's tale.....

My Mum used to say that and it's very apt. I'm so, so busy that I'm having dreadful trouble keeping up with this blogging lark. So much for posting every day! That went the way of all my resolutions.

I think I told you that I have some copper pieces displayed at C.A.T. Services in La Alfoquia. I remembered to take pictures last time I popped in.

Then I received an email from Karen to say they had sold three items! Hooray! The copper coils bracelet and the double coil pendant went, along with a pair of my pointy heart earrings. I popped down there this morning to replace them with these:

I seem to be on an earring binge lately. I must make some bracelets and necklaces. When I get the time......

More later!

Saturday, 6th August...

This is going to be a very short post! Missed one yesterday, I was very busy and then we went round to a friend's house for drinks. There very nearly wasn't a blog post today, either. I had a terrible hangover this morning!

I've spent most of today checking out the big changes at Artfire.  My studios both look great but there are some bugs, which is only to be expected. My statistics don't make sense at the moment but I'm sure they'll get it fixed soon.

Go have a peek at the new look! Bluetina and Bluetinatoo both looking good!

Tuesday, 2nd August...

Well, the water's back on! The pressure was ridiculously low to start with but it's back up to full strength now. I'm clean! Hooray!

My friend Pam gave me a tip about a venue for displaying my jewellery so this morning I went to La Alfoquia to check it out. C.A.T. Services  do all sorts of things like post, residencia applications, translations, etc.  They have quite a large office area which is about to expand and they want to fill it with many and various items for sale. They already have pottery, yarn, ornaments, books, small furnishings and costume jewellery.  I am going to spend the next two weeks making copper jewellery to display there. I have high hopes!

I have been following the copy writing thread in the Artfire forums. I have put quite a bit of effort and brain power (such as it is!) into producing good, long descriptions for the next lot of earrings to be listed. I also tested the titles with Google's Keyword Tool. Getting found by Google is the secret to selling on line.

I listed these yesterday. One in my Bluetina studio:

SS Heart Earrings with Red Accent Beads

and this one in Bluetinatoo:

Spiral Earrings in Copper with Haematite

I shall be interested to see how they do. I posted them on my Facebook page as well but I'm not sure I get any lookers from there. We shall see!

Now I'm going to dust off my pliers and get to work!

See you later!

Sunday, 31st July....

Hello again!

I am gratified to see that some people are reading this blog. I've had a few comments!

We popped up to our friends' house for drinks and nibbles last night. They had invited their next door neighbours who were over on holiday. I came over all domesticated and made some sausage rolls with my own fair hands. We sat outside (one of the things I love about living in Spain - you can sit outside at night and be perfectly warm in a summer dress) and nibbled and drank and nibbled and drank until 1 a.m. Went home slightly rat arsed! I had no business feeling as reasonably healthy as I did this morning. Should have had a hangover but I got away with it.

Bryn just got back from doing an airport run to Alicante.  He's gone to bed with a pounding headache.

Sold another buckle off the buckleman web site today. Seven down, eighty nine to go. If anybody is interested, Bryn is selling his collection of German Military belt buckles. He started collecting them when he was fifteen but now they are pension fund!

I've done the ironing and now I'm going to have a go at writing some good descriptions for these earrings I made a few weeks ago, just before I went off for my regular jaunt to the UK.

 Simple sterling silver spirals.

 Copper and haematite earrings.

 Copper wonky heart earrings with Swarovski crystals.

 Sterling silver large oval hoops with Mother of Pearl.

Sterling silver wonky hearts with red glass heart beads.








Some will be listed in bluetina and some in bluetinatoo. Not sure which ones yet.

See you later!

Jewelry Creators Unite in Numbers

I have searched at random through the guild roster to spot unusual items from our members.

Blessed Bea Prayer Beads

Pagan prayer beads from Srega Jewellry. I haven't seen those before!

Midnight Blue Earrings

I love these beauties from Pretty Gonzo! Lovely photograph, too!

6 Strand Jade Necklace

This multi strand Jade necklace from JillsJewelry is rather luxurious!

Hot Pink Bracelet

Just look at the colour of these beads that personaloasis has used in this bracelet!

Sterling Silver Paua Shell Necklace

Epicetera has certainly gone to town on this one! Absolutely gorgeous!

Silver & Copper Shoulder Sweepers

And here is one of mine from my bluetinatoo studio. I discovered I could tilt the tripod!

Catching up....

This blog and I have not been getting along. I have been ignoring it, mainly because I haven't the foggiest idea what to blog about.

I was advised to start blogging by the people at Artfire.  It's supposed to increase traffic in one's shop by way of back links raising one's standing with Google. I think I understand that. What they want, though, is content and lots of it. Said content is supposed to be relevant. Relevant to my jewellery making, I suppose. Well, relevant is relative. I can't post anything about jewellery making yet because I haven't had the time to make any!

Also, since very few, if any, people actually read this blog, I have decided to post something here every day and treat it like a diary of sorts.  I'm talking to myself and there is nothing inherently wrong with that if it helps to sort my mind out.

I see the last post I did was about the Pisa weekend. Since then I have been to the UK for three weeks, come back with a really nasty cold and caught up with the bookkeeping for Shabby Sheep Boutique. That's my future daughter-in-law's shop in Brightlingsea, Essex.  Between them, Sheryl and my son, Ben, have four children.  Their life is hectic, to say the least.

This is Faye

This is Ethan

This is Thomas

And this is Alex

Opening a gift shop like Shabby Sheep in the middle of a recession is a very brave thing to do but it does seem to be going very well.  Sheryl is very quick to spot an opportunity and move the way her customers would like her to go.  Fish pedicures seem to be all the rage at the moment and she now has two tanks that would appear to be full of feet all week! Getting all the paperwork sorted was a Herculean task what with them being in England and me being in Spain but we got there in the end. Thank God for the internet, skype, scanners, drop boxes and the like. You really can do things at a distance now!

Now that Shabby Sheep is up to date, I can concentrate on Bluetina and Bluetinatoo.  I have more jewellery to make. I have more blogging to do. I have Facebook to keep up with.  I am trying not to think about Twitter but I'm probably going to do it. I have to do something about my descriptions - Google keep moving the goalposts on SEO so I'm not being found so often. I must remember to upload all my photos to Flickr. I must keep up with my obligations to Jewelry Creators Unite in Numbers, the Guild I belong to on Artfire. I have a list about three feet long of all the things I have to do. 

Well, I'm not going back to the UK until October so I have two whole months! Let us see what I can accomplish in that time. As it is very nearly the end of July, the next thing is a blog post for JCUIN. 

See you later!

Presenting the "Odd Earring" Custom Charm Bracelet!

This custom service is now launched! Go see the listing in my Bluetinatoo studio on Artfire.

The description reads like "War & Peace" but there is a lot to cover! The example shown above and in the listing has eight "charms" on it and that comes out at $40.  The price could be more or less, depending on the number of earrings you have and the sort of chain that is suitable.

I hope this holds some interest for you all, as I think it's a neat idea. It certainly put some of my odd earrings to good use!

The "odd earring" charm bracelet is coming soon....

Well, I've made the example bracelet using my own "odd earrings".  I've used sterling silver chain and hand made the clasp myself. I've also worked out a nice, neat way to link the earring "charms" to the chain. I'm going to launch this on an unsuspecting world next week, when we get back from our trip to Pisa.  It will be listed as a custom item in my Bluetinatoo studio on Artfire. Watch this space.....

Some photos to whet your appetite!

I love copper!

This my alter ego, Bluetinatoo, with a small collection of lovely jewellery made with copper.  I love the look of copper, shiny or oxidized, it doesn't matter to me. I also love working with it - it seems to love my pliers!

This glass and copper bracelet by zoomgraphic is rather gorgeous!

Spiral does great things with copper! This choker is a good example.

Christina Kosinski does lovely work. Look at this beautiful copper necklace!

Andrea T Jewelry uses copper and silver, sometimes combining both.  As in this pretty pendant!

If you want your copper with a patina, then Gaelic Forge is the place to be! These earrings are such a beautiful colour!

Bluetinatoo's efforts in copper are best represented by these copper and coral earrings, I think.

I still haven't got over making spirals!

Friends, Romans, Countrymen....

.....lend me your earrings!  I will make of them a special, unique, one of a kind charm bracelet, just for you!

Seriously, do you think this would go down well? I was sorting through my little box of silver oddments today, to see what I could place in my brand, spanking new tumbler and make all shiny and luscious again.  I came across so many odd silver earrings that I had an idea. You know how it is - a pair of earrings is your favourite until one of them falls out, unnoticed, and lands in the dirt.  Or in the taxi. Or on the floor of the bus. A friend of mine managed to run a single earring over with her 4 x 4 the other day!  It's not salvageable, I'm afraid.

I made a bracelet such as this just last year for a friend's 40th birthday.  This is it - terrible photograph, but it gives the idea.

After going through my own box of orphaned earrings, I realized that most of us girls must have just such a collection.  I'm thinking I might offer this service in my Bluetinatoo studio on Artfire.  I just have to work out the logistics.

Do you think people would be willing to send me their spare earrings and get them back as a bracelet? It wouldn't be dreadfully expensive. I'd have to charge for the chain, the clasp and my time, hand wrapping the charms provided.

Do let me know what you think!

An interesting few weeks....

My poor little blog has been sadly neglected.  I've been so busy these past few weeks that I haven't had time to blog about anything!

Unfortunately, I have not been busy making jewellery.  Real life has been happening to me - it seems to happen with alarming regularity and lightning speed lately. Another symptom of growing older, I think. Speaking of which, April saw the coming and going of my 60th birthday.  I am officially an old wrinkly, senior citizen, aged crone or whatever!  As the Spanish say "Soy una pensionista!" I may be of pensionable age but I have not been recompensed - I will not be eligible for my UK state pension until I'm 61 and a bit. They are gradually moving the pension age for women up to 65 and I was caught at the beginning of the sliding scale. My  poor husband (toy boy) is only 55. The way they keep moving the goalposts, he'll probably be 95 and out if it by the time he qualifies!

I spent three weeks in the UK visiting my Mum, having my birthday, seeing grandchildren, friends and relatives and it seemed that not a day went by when there wasn't something to do, someone to see, or somewhere to go. I took wire and pliers with me but never got to touch them. Since coming home to Spain, I have visited friends in Alicante, done lots of shopping, washing, cooking, ironing and cleaning but no creating! I'm trying to get back into the "zone" but it's hard. I managed one pair of earrings today so I've made a start.

I'm also trying to catch up with Artfire's Social Media Boot Camp course.  That's another thing I was intending to follow while in the UK.  Didn't happen, of course! I'm slowly working my way through all the Forum threads and making copious notes. We're doing Facebook at the moment. I already have a Facebook Page so I've got a head start there. Next, I believe, it's Twitter. God help me.....

Front page bliss!

I came back to Mum's last night after an evening out with my sister and her friend to find myself represented on the front page of Artfire. This lovely collection did the trick:

Seeing Red!

  Curated By: OceanCharms

ArtFire.com

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